2011 Volume 41 Issue 1 Pages 235-250
The aim of this study was to examine the regional labor market and clarify policy implications by analyzing labor supply and demand trends in each region of Japan.
This examination was carried out with a proportionate econometric model. This model is constructed by considering original variables of the industrial structure and the wealth gap. The industrial, structural analysis used the shift share analysis.
After the labor supply and demand differences in 47 administrative divisions were estimated, the divisions were compared with an industrial structural analysis.
The following results were clarified ;
(i) As a result of presuming the coefficient of the labor demand function, it was determined that the coefficient of corporate production grows greater than the nominal wage rate, corporate production is greatly controlled by labor demand, coefficient of the tertiary industry is large in the specialization coefficient, and the service industry leads in labor demand. In addition, the influence of Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the largest. On the other hand, the coefficient of wealth gap (WD) between regions is comparatively small, and supply of labor between regions is not controlled easily by wealth gap (WD).
(ii) The trend of labor supply and demand differences from 1990 to 2002 can be classified into the following three groups. The first group rapidly expanded supply and demand differences in such regions as Chiba Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture. The second group showed a comparatively calm expansion of supply and demand differences in such regions as Toyama Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture. The third group showed an intermediate tendency of expansion as compared with the first and second groups in such regions as Yamagata Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture.
(iii) As a result of analyzing the shift in shares of the 47 administrative divisions, we determined that changes in the number of employment factors from 1990 to 2000 during the recession period was due to an industrial structural factor, and the negative factor of the secondary industry greatly influenced the changes.
(iv) From 1990 to 2002, the expansion of the labor supply and demand difference was low and employment increased by the original regional factor in such regions as Toyama Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture.
JEL Classification: J21, J23
